


Let Their Hearts Be Light

by altsunthinkable



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-27
Updated: 2011-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-15 23:45:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altsunthinkable/pseuds/altsunthinkable
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Justin arrives home for the holidays from New York to a change of plans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let Their Hearts Be Light

**Author's Note:**

> Written for **callie89** for the 2006 Holiday Gift Exchange on Livejournal.
> 
> Disclaimer: Queer as Folk and its characters belong to Showtime and Cowlip. This was written for fun and no profit is being made from it.

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea, Brian,” Lindsay sighed.

“Since when? We agreed on this months ago, Lindsay. We _both_ promised Gus. And now you’re telling me I can’t pick him up tomorrow? That is bullshit!”

“Brian, please don’t yell,” Lindsay pleaded. “I know you’re disappointed and Gus will be too. He was really looking forward to a longer visit with you and Justin, but Mel wants-”

“ _Mel_ wants? Why the fuck should I give a shit what _Mel_ wants? I’m his father and I want to see him! You swore to me when I gave permission for you to move him to Toronto that I would still see him, still be part of his life.”

“And you are. Gus loves it when you visit him. He looks forward to your weekends up here all month long. As soon as you leave he’s counting the days until your next visit. You know he adores you.”

“I know,” Brian said quietly. “I know he does. But that doesn’t change the fact that you have only let him come visit me _twice_ since moving up there. Twice in more than a year and a half!”

“We’ve been back to Pittsburgh more often than that, Brian,” Lindsay huffed, starting to sound irritated.

“Oh right. I got to see him for a few hours between family dinners last Easter. Oh! And there was that long weekend at the beginning of the summer when you so graciously allowed Justin and I all of 6 hours to take him to the zoo. You know what I mean, Lindsay. Don’t play the vacuous blonde. It’s not becoming.”

“You’ll still see him on Christmas,” Lindsay replied, ignoring completely the point she knew Brian was trying to make. What could she say to him that wouldn’t just anger him further? “We’ll all be driving down Christmas Eve morning and we’ll be staying until the morning of the 27th.”

“Oh, three whole days. That’s just beautiful, Lindz.” Brian’s voice was caustic with sarcasm. “You cut more than a week off my time with him and it’s supposed to just be okay because all of you will still be invading the house for the actual holiday itself?”

“Brian, what do you want me to do?” Lindsay asked, sounding on the verge of tears. It was almost enough to make Brian back off. He couldn’t stand it when Lindsay cried. But he couldn’t stand not getting to see his son more.

“I want you to keep your word and let me fly up to get Gus tomorrow and keep him next week until you and Mel can come down here for the holiday. I really don’t get why suddenly this is an issue. It was just fine with you last year.”

“Mel wants the kids here for Hanukkah which starts tonight. Last year it didn’t begin until the 25th. And we really need to respect her wishes to raise Gus and JR at least somewhat in the Jewish faith.”

“You know, if she’d taken them to synagogue even once in their lives, that might actually hold some weight, even if I do think the whole religion thing is bullshit to begin with. But she hasn’t. So I don’t need to respect shit. Since I refused to let her have that rabbi slice off his foreskin, she hasn’t showed one bit of interest in raising him Jewish until now that it’s suddenly oh-so-convenient when she decides she doesn’t want to let me spend any significant time with him when she’s not able to be right there, breathing down my neck.”

“Brian, I cannot believe how ridiculous you’re being! I know you were looking forward to seeing Gus tomorrow but Michael was looking forward to seeing Jenny Rebecca too and he understands why this is important to Melanie.”

“Yeah, and his understanding nature wouldn’t have anything at all to do with the fact that he and Ben had JR for full week just last month, would it? While Gus hasn’t been here with Justin and me since July.”

“You know that now that Gus is in kindergarten we don’t want it to become a habit for him to miss school to visit you. It might not make a difference now, but in a few years if we kept letting him, it could start to effect his schoolwork. So it’s better if we don’t even start down that path. And you agreed. Jenny Rebecca isn’t in school yet. And since Carnegie Mellon was closed for those few days before American Thanksgiving due to that water main break, Ben was home the whole week with nothing else to really do. And now that Michael has hired a couple of employees, he can spend less time at the shop when they have her. It’s a completely different situation, Brian,” Lindsay explained.

“So it’s my fault that Michael owns a comic book store and has a live-in hubby while I run a multi-million dollar company and my partner lives in New York?” Brian knew he sounded bitter but couldn’t really bring himself to care much at the moment. The munchers had agreed months ago that once Gus’s fancy private school (that Brian was, of course, paying for) let out for the winter holidays that Brian could fly up to Toronto to pick Gus up and bring him back to Pittsburgh for a full eight days before Lindsay and Melanie would be able to get away from work to come down for Christmas. And now, the day before Brian was to get him, Lindsay called to say that ‘she and Mel didn’t think it was really a good idea.’

“You know that’s not what I meant, Brian,” Lindsay said, softly.

“Cynthia has scheduled it so that I don’t have to be in until 10:00 and will be out of the office at 3:00 every day next week. And Justin is flying in late tonight. He can be here all day, every day with Gus. That’s more time than he’d get with either of you next week while you’re both working. What are you going to do with him during the day? Stick him with the same sitter that JR spends all her time with?”

“It is not our fault that we both have to work so much right now, Brian! It hasn’t been easy starting over in a new country.”

“And yet I seem to recall hearing how it was all going to be worth it before you left. Just how exactly is Mel going to celebrate Hanukkah with them when she’s working 12 hour days and doesn’t get home until it’s time for them to go to bed? You know… I think this has fuck all to do with Hanukkah. The situation is different with Mikey and JR, all right. You can’t keep him from having physical custody of her because he still has some rights as her parent. Would you and Melanie even be together now if I hadn’t stopped you from going through with your ridiculous plan to marry that fucking frog and given up my rights?”

Lindsay was silent.

Brian looked down at the enormous pile of bright, colorful, and professionally wrapped packages under the 12 foot Christmas tree gracing the formal living room of the manor house. He’d placed them there just a couple of hours ago, knowing that once Justin arrived later tonight he wouldn’t want to take the time to do it. And he’d wanted the gifts to be there when Gus arrived. Of course, there was another mountain of gifts “from Santa” safely tucked away in a locked closet of one of the empty and seldom used guest rooms. Brian had spared no expense yet again in both completing his Christmas shopping well ahead of the holiday hoards and having the whole estate decked out in the most stunning but tasteful decorations money could buy. Lights and garlands festooned not only the house itself, but also the stables as well as every fence rail and evergreen on the property. Inside were more garlands adorning every archway and every railing, and not just one, but four, Christmas trees. There was the main tree in the living room of course, but there were also smaller trees in the media room since they’d also be spending a lot of time in there, in Justin’s studio, and in Gus’s bedroom. At times it still made Brian feel a bit itchy but if Brian Kinney was going to do Christmas, he was fucking going to do it right. And as far as he was concerned, that meant everything that was sure to make a six-year-old’s (and maybe a certain blond twink’s, as well) heart glad.

“What are you going to tell Gus?” Brian asked finally. “What are you going to tell him about why I’m not coming to pick him up tomorrow?”

“The truth,” Lindsay assured him. “That you and Justin really wanted him to come visit but Melanie and I want him here for Hanukkah. I’m sure he’ll be angry at us and upset about not seeing you tomorrow. Can we have him call you after we tell him so you can assure him you’ll see him on Christmas Eve?”

“No. Not tonight,” Brian decided abruptly. As much as he wanted to hear his son’s voice, hearing how upset Gus was going to be about not getting to see him tomorrow would be more than Brian could take tonight. The munchers were just going to have to deal with the fallout of their decision themselves.

“Brian, please don’t be this way,” Lindsay admonished. “And don’t punish Gus for something Mel and I decided.”

“He can call tomorrow, around dinner time. I promise I’ll answer. All right?”

“All right,” she agreed quietly. “And Brian? I really am sorry.”

“Yeah. Whatever.”

********

Justin knew immediately that something was wrong when the driver turned the car into the driveway. The house was dark, not a single light visible outside or in. His first thought was whether he’d told Brian the wrong time for his flight and Brian was at the loft instead. But he knew he hadn’t. He’d talked to Brian just this morning and Brian had said “see you tonight” before they hung up. And he’d sounded excited. Well, as excited as Brian gets. Justin knew how much Brian was looking forward to this time with both him and Gus. No, this was something else. Something wasn’t right.

When the car pulled to a stop, Justin got out and the driver popped the trunk then helped him unload his luggage. He had a few more bags than usual this time because of all the Christmas gifts he’d bought in New York. Though the three paintings he was giving as gifts to Debbie, his mother, and Brian had been shipped home weeks ago, there was still a lot to carry. He’d sold all eight canvases he’d had in a recent show and was able to afford to be fairly generous with his family and friends this Christmas, especially when compared to last year. The first year in New York had been hard but in the last six months or so things had been starting to look up.

“Happy holidays, Mr. Taylor,” the driver told him once all of Justin’s bags were sitting by the door and Justin had assured him he’d get them inside himself. Justin wished him the same and said goodnight. He’d gotten to know a few of the company’s drivers at least in passing over the last year and a half. One thing Justin had realized pretty quickly after having Brian pick him up the first few times he flew home and suffering the bitchy attitude for it, was that Brian Kinney doesn’t do airports. Things were a lot more pleasant for everyone concerned since they’d started hiring a car service to drive Justin to and from the house or the loft.

As the car pulled away, Justin fished his keys out of his pocket and fumbled with the lock in the dark for a moment before finally getting the heavy oak front door opened. He stepped into the foyer and flicked on the lights. He was surprised to see the double doors that lead into the living room were closed. They never closed them, not unless they weren’t going to be at the house for awhile. Maybe Brian really wasn’t here?

But no, the heat was turned up and the house was plenty warm. The uneasy feeling in Justin’s stomach worsened. Shedding his coat and leaving the rest of the bags outside for the moment, he headed for the media room. Maybe Brian had just fallen asleep watching TV and had forgotten to turn on the lights for Justin to find his way in by. But Justin wasn’t really surprised to find the room empty and as dark as the rest of the house. This didn’t feel right.

He quickly headed back out to the foyer and up the stairs, making a beeline for their bedroom. When he pushed open the door he breathed a sigh of relief to find Brian asleep… no, wait, there were two bottles of Jack Daniels on the nightstand, one of them empty, so make that passed out… on his side of the bed. Justin could smell the alcohol from where he stood in the doorway. Sighing, he walked over to the bed and knelt on the edge to rub Brian’s shoulder.

“Brian? Brian? Can you wake up?”

Brian shifted a little and grunted, but that was all. Justin ran a hand through his hair, frowning. Something had obviously triggered this. There hadn’t been a night yet that he arrived from New York to either the loft or the house that Brian wasn’t waiting, ready to fuck him senseless at the first possible moment and show Justin just how much he’d been missed. And why would he get this trashed when he knew he had to be at the airport bright and early tomorrow morning to fly up to Toronto and get Gus?

Sighing again, Justin got to his feet and headed back down to bring in the rest of his bags. Brian wouldn’t be in any condition to tell him what was wrong anytime soon, if he ever did, so he might as well get the rest of his stuff inside. After hauling everything upstairs, Justin dropped his duffle bag inside their bedroom door then stashed the bags of gifts in his studio to wrap later. He smiled a little to himself when he saw the small Christmas tree standing in the corner of the room. He’d complained once last year that he hadn’t gotten to enjoy their tree as much as he’d wanted to because he’d spent so much time in his studio painting. Brian had complained in return that he hadn’t gotten to enjoy Justin’s ass as much as he’d wanted to over the holidays for the same reason. Justin knew by now he should never be surprised that occasionally Brian really was listening even when it seemed like he wasn’t, but at times he still was.

Stifling a yawn, Justin looked at the clock and saw it was nearly 2:00. He really should get some sleep. But he was still a little wired from all the activity of the day, the flight, and the ride out to the house. Plus, he’d been expecting to get pounded into the mattress in greeting and that hadn’t happened.

Slipping quietly into their bedroom, Justin bent down and unzipped his duffle bag, retrieving his shaving kit and taking it with him into the bathroom. He jerked off in the shower to take the edge off and hopefully allow himself to fall asleep quickly and then finished getting cleaned up and ready for bed. When he slipped his naked and still damp body between the covers, Brian mumbled a little and rolled over closer to Justin’s side of the bed, instinctively seeking out his warmth. Justin made sure the alarm was set, then wrapped his arm around Brian, laid his head on his chest, closed his eyes, and hoped sleep would come soon.

********

When Justin woke up in the morning Brian was gone. At first he was confused, wondering how it was possible that he’d slept through the alarm but then he realized it was only a quarter to 8 and the alarm hadn’t gone off yet. Reaching out his arm, Justin realized Brian’s side of the bed was cold. He’d been up for awhile.

He got up and pulled on a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt, and some thick socks. The hardwood floors of the house were always cold, no matter how comfortable the rooms were. Padding down the stairs and into the kitchen, Justin discovered there was fresh coffee. He poured himself a cup and then he saw the note on the counter.

 _Justin,  
I have some work to do at the office today. Gus isn’t coming until the 24th now. Call me if you want to have lunch or meet at the loft around 1. If I don’t hear from you I’ll be back around 6. Can’t wait to fuck you._

 _B_

Justin frowned at the slip of paper though one corner of his mouth quirked up in an almost-grin when he saw the two words hastily scrawled in the bottom corner almost like an after thought: _Welcome home._

Gus wasn’t coming until the 24th? Since when?

Since last night, Justin quickly realized. That was what Brian had been so upset about. But why the change in plans? Was Gus sick maybe? They’d been planning on this visit for months. Justin hadn’t had an easy time convincing his manager at the restaurant where he waited tables to let him have the entire time from the week before Christmas until after the New Year off even though he’d warned her months in advance. In fact, Justin was sure if he wasn’t as good at the job and as popular among the rest of the staff as he was, they would have let him go. But even if he’d had to lose the job, it would have been worth it for this extra time with Brian and Gus. Not that it wasn’t going to be nice to have an extra week with just Brian at the house, because it would be... as long as Brian wasn’t going to be miserable about the holiday now that Gus wouldn’t be arriving until Christmas Eve.

Justin bit his lip and pondered the phone for a moment before picking it up and dialing Brian’s cell. It went straight to voice mail. He didn’t leave a message. Instead, he hung up and dialed Brian’s direct line at Kinnetik but it rang six times and then it too went to voice mail. So Brian was probably on a call on another line. Or he was avoiding answering the phone. But he’d told Justin to call if he wanted to meet up in town, so it was probably just that he was busy. Though how busy could he be? Justin knew Brian had told Cynthia in no uncertain terms that he would be unavailable this weekend and would only be in the office limited hours next week while Gus visited. Justin knew what was really going on, that Brian was hiding in his work, and he supposed he’d let him get away with it for a day. But he didn’t want the whole week to pass like this. Sure, he could get a lot of painting done in his studio here, and visit his mom and Molly, their family, and Daph. But he’d come home expecting to spend this time with Brian. Or more specifically, Brian and Gus.

Justin dialed another number and took a sip of coffee as it rang and rang. Maybe he wasn’t there yet? But it was the second to last Saturday before Christmas. Finally Michael answered.

“Red Cape Comics.”

“Hey Michael, it’s Justin.”

“Oh, hey! Sorry it took me so long to answer. I was up in the stockroom. Are you in town now?”

“Yeah. Well, I’m at the house. I got in last night.”

“That’s good. Did you have a good flight?”

“It was all right.”

“Listen, I don’t know if Brian’s told you yet, but Ma’s having a family dinner tomorrow night. I’m sure that’s not a surprise since you’re home and Gus was supposed to be here too. You’re both expected to be there, of course.”

“Actually, I haven’t really gotten the chance to talk to Brian yet. He was pretty much passed out when I got in last night and he was already gone to the office when I woke up this morning. And what is that about Gus not coming until the 24th? Brian just left a note this morning saying that but he didn’t give any explanation. Is the same true for JR?”

“Yeah. Though we weren’t going to get her until Wednesday when Ben will have submitted his grades for the term. He’s up to his eyeballs in papers to grade right now and the store is insanely busy, not that I should complain. But I guess Mel’s decided she wants the kids around for Hanukkah which started last night. I’m kind of disappointed but we just had her last month at Thanksgiving. Brian hasn’t had Gus here for a good long visit in months.”

“Right…”

“Listen, Justin, I gotta go. I’ve already got three customers waiting outside for me to open. I think I’m going to just let them in. Oh, and by the way, the new Rage t-shirts are selling like crazy and I’m down to 300 copies of the latest issue left. I think we need to have some more printed.”

“Great.”

“See you tomorrow night!”

“Bye.”

Setting the phone back on the charger, Justin ran his hand through his hair, pulling slightly in frustration. He could understand why Mel would like to have the kids around for Hanukkah, especially since she was working so much lately that she didn’t get to share much with them. But they’d all _promised_ Gus he could visit his dad and Justin at the house while his school was on break. Justin couldn’t imagine that Gus had taken his moms’ decision well at all. He was always complaining about how much more JR got to see her dad than he did his. At six, Gus was very into what’s fair lately. And Justin didn’t think this was fair at all. Not to Gus and not to Brian.

Brian would never admit it, but he had to be devastated that Gus wasn’t going to be here for a longer visit. Last Christmas’s visit had to rank up there with one of Justin’s all time favorite holiday memories. It was Brian who had decided he wanted to have the house ready for Justin and Gus for Christmas. And he’d gone all out, having contractors and decorators working on the house for months before the holidays so everything would be perfect. And it really, truly was. Brian had scaled back his work schedule at Kinnetik and Justin had never seen him so happy and relaxed as he had for that one week. He’d still been a little less than enthusiastic about some of the holiday things but Justin could see he was making a genuine effort for Gus’s sake.

And it’d been the most time Justin had ever really spent with Gus at one time. As much as he’d liked him, and JR too, before that week last year, Justin hadn’t had the chance to really spend a lot of one on one time with Gus and really get to know him. He’d been pleasantly surprised to find out just how cool of a kid Gus was. He was still really quiet but at five he’d definitely been asserting himself as his own person and could tell Justin what he was thinking or feeling and what he wanted and liked. Justin had always been a little intimidated by Gus as a baby. As much as he’d loved him and wanted to be close to him, he’d always been worried about doing something wrong and having Mel or Lindz or Brian yell at him.

So Justin was disappointed about missing out on more time with Gus. But he knew how he was feeling couldn’t even come close to how Brian must be feeling. Justin really hadn’t seen Brian in pain management mode like he’d clearly been last night in a long time. He’d get a little drunk or a little stoned or high to unwind when he was stressed, but Justin had hoped that downing whiskey until he passed out was a thing of the past. But apparently not.

This had to be killing Brian. Justin knew he felt guilty, that he thought he’d wasted the first few years of Gus’s life, not spending enough time with him. And just when he decided he wanted to change that, Gus had been taken away from him. He did the best he could to get up to Toronto one weekend a month and most of the time he succeeded. But visiting Gus at his moms’ house was nothing like having him in Brian’s own home. Brian had to ask Melanie and Lindsay’s permission for everything he wanted to take Gus to go do. Every trip to the zoo or the science center or even the park. Every ice cream treat or piece of pizza was subject to scrutiny. Justin knew that they really meant well and they had the right; they were his mothers. But sometimes he felt they forgot the only reason Melanie had any rights to their son was through Brian’s sacrifice. It would do so much for Brian and Gus’s relationship if they would just say yes a little more often.

But they’d said no again. Even worse, they’d said yes first and then changed their minds. Did they have any idea what they were doing to Brian? Well, Melanie probably didn’t care… but still. And Gus… In one of his most open moments Justin could ever recall, Brian had confessed to him one night a few months ago that Gus cries now every weekend that Brian visits when it’s time for him to leave again and asks him not to go. That’s all Brian had said about it but Justin could see the pain in his eyes and knew it had to just tear Brian’s heart out each and every time.

One visit wouldn’t fix that but it would make them both so happy, at least for one week. And Justin wanted Brian’s happiness more than anything else in the world. There had been times in the past when he felt that maybe it was a futile effort, but the few times he had seen Brian genuinely and truly happy were enough to make him know that he’d never stop trying to make it happen again.

Setting down his coffee cup, Justin bit his bottom lip for a moment and then nodded.

He had a plan.

********

Lindsay was just getting lunch ready for Gus and Jenny Rebecca when the doorbell rang. She set down the knife she was using to slice an apple and wiped her hands on a dish towel before walking through the living room. Whoever it was started to knock on the door just as she put her hand on the knob and pulled it open.

“Justin!”

********

Brian sighed as he turned the Corvette up the drive to the house a little after 6:00 in the evening and saw that the Christmas lights had all been turned on. He wasn’t going to complain about it to Justin though. Contrary to popular opinion, he didn’t decorate the house just for Gus. Justin absolutely loved the holidays. He’d had a happy childhood, more or less, at least until he’d come out to his father, and he had lots of wonderful memories of Christmases when he was a kid. And Brian had seen the hurt look on his face more than once over the years when Brian had blown off something Justin enjoyed about the season. The last thing he wanted to do now was cause that expression to be there again. Besides… Justin’s smile when he’d see the tree all lit up and shimmering with tinsel shone brighter than any number of twinkling lights and made Brian believe it was possible that he could bear just about anything for the chance to see it again.

He pulled the car into the garage, then walked back outside and around to the front of the house to take in some of the display. It really was quite impressive, though it should be for what it had cost. Brian sighed and lit a cigarette. Even though he’d had the whole drive, he still felt he needed a moment before going inside and facing Justin’s questions and concerns and sympathy about Gus’s cancelled visit. He knew Justin would mean well but it was absolutely the last thing Brian wanted to think about right now. The only thing Brian really wanted to do was take Justin up to their bed and fuck. All night long.

Taking one last drag on his smoke, Brian flicked the butt into the bushes and pulled out his keys. He unlocked the door and stepped into the foyer. The doors to the living room were open, the tree was lit, and there was a small fire burning in the fireplace. Brian could smell something sweet with just a hint of burnt flour in the air and had a sinking suspicion the Justin had actually baked Christmas cookies. Gritting his teeth, Brian opened the front closet and hung up his coat, slamming the door a little harder than was probably necessary.

 _“Don’t be a shit,”_ whispered a little voice in the back of his mind, sounding suspiciously like Lindsay.

“Fuck you,” he muttered under his breath.

“Brian?” Justin called, his voice filtering down the stairs. He was probably in his studio.

“Who else would it be?”

Suddenly there was the unmistakable thumping sound of feet running down the upstairs hall. Then…

“Daddy!” Brian stood frozen in shock as Gus barreled down the stairs.

“Gus! Don’t run down the stairs! Jesus! You’re going to fall!” Justin yelled, hot on his heels.

But Gus had made it safely to the bottom of the stairs and threw his arms around his father’s waist.

“Sonny boy? What are you doing here?” Brian finally found his voice to ask, crouching down to embrace Gus on his level.

“It’s Christmas!” Gus exclaimed, clearly thinking his dad was the silliest person on earth to even have to ask.

“It sure is!” Brian laughed, his face splitting into a wide grin.

 _“And_ it’s Hanukkah too. Mama said last night that she wanted me and JR to stay there but I didn’t want to. Mama said I had to anyway and I got really mad and I said some bad words. Then she said I had to say I was sorry and I couldn’t watch TV for two days.”

“But you’re here now. How did that happen? Who did you fly on the airplane with?”

“Justin! He came and got me. He told Mom and Mama that it was bull- um… a word I’m not supposed to say, that Mama said I had to stay there for Hanukkah and that I could have Hanukkah here too. They yelled a lot and Mom made me go upstairs. But I could still kinda hear.” Gus’s smile faded a little bit. “He said you were sad that I wasn’t gonna be here. I was really sad, too. I cried last night,” he admitted, quieter than the rest of his excited chatter so far. “Did you cry, Dad?”

“No, I didn’t. But I felt like it,” Brian said softly, pulling his son in for another hug and holding him tightly.

“Oh Brian, you’ve got paint all over you now,” Justin said, trying unsuccessfully to hide his smile behind his hand.

Belatedly, Brian realized that Gus was wearing one of Justin’s old dress shirts as a smock, turned back to front over his clothes and it was smeared with green, red, yellow, blue, silver, and gold paint. He sighed, looking down at his Armani sweater which was now splotched with a similar pattern. “Oh well… they’re only clothes.”

“Okay, I know I surprised you, but do you need to sit down or something?” Justin teased, walking closer and putting his hands on Gus’s shoulders

“So what have you two been up to that’s so… colorful?” Brian asked.

“We’re making wrapping paper!” Gus told him.

 _“Making_ wrapping paper,” Brian repeated blankly.

“Yeah! It’s really fun. Justin is better, he doesn’t have to use stencils or stamps, but mine looks good too.”

“I’m sure it does. You’ll have to show me once you wrap some gifts in it. So what’s this I hear about Hanukkah?”

“I’m supposed to have Hanukkah here with you and Justin. I have some books Mama wants you to read to me, and I have a dreidel to play with. That’s like a top, sorta. Only Mama doesn’t like it when I call it that. And I have a Men-or-ah,” Gus carefully pronounced. “Justin said he’ll help me light it every night. And we’re going to make latkes tomorrow! We baked some cookies tonight but we kinda burned some of them.”

Brian shot Justin a quizzical look. “What do you know about Hanukkah?”

Justin’s smile faded a little bit and he shifted uncomfortably. “Um… I know… some stuff.” At Brian’s look he sighed and continued uncertainly. “Ethan? He was Jewish?”

Oh… right. The fiddler. They had been together for one holiday season. As Brian tried to block those painful months out of his mind as much as possible, he had forgotten. He pressed his lips together for a moment then forced another smile. “Well, at least he was good for something then,” he said and Justin sighed with relief. Ethan was history and had been for a long time. Though he knew it’d always be a sensitive subject for Brian and tried to avoid referencing that period in his life whenever possible.

“Gus, why don’t you go back up to the studio and take off that shirt. Put it on the counter by the sink, okay? And then wash your hands. It’s almost time for dinner. We’ll make more wrapping paper tomorrow,” Justin told him.

Gus grumbled a little about having to go anywhere when his dad had just gotten home but he did as he was asked, dragging his feet all way up the staircase. Once Brian was sure Gus was out of earshot, he grabbed Justin and pulled him into an embrace. Justin resisted a little.

“I’ve got paint on me too.”

“My sweater’s already ruined,” Brian shrugged, then silenced any further protests with his tongue in Justin’s mouth. The kiss deepened and threatened to become heated before Brian remembered the six-year-old washing his hands upstairs and about to come down expecting dinner. He reluctantly broke the kiss but kept his forehead resting against Justin’s.

“Thank you,” he murmured, tightening his arms about his sneaky, ingenious, manipulative, resourceful partner. They were the only words he could really think of to say and they didn’t seem sufficient but he knew Justin understood. Justin always understood.

“Merry Christmas, Brian.”


End file.
